The death toll from a militant hijacking of a train in Pakistan's southwestern mountains has risen to 31 soldiers, staff and civilians, the military said on Friday as it accused India and Afghanistan of backing the insurgents.

A group of militants seized a Peshawar-bound train, igniting a 36-hour hostage crisis, but this attack is part of a decades-long insurgency rooted in the Baloch separatist groups' violent struggle for an independent state.

Pakistan Train Hijack: 155 passengers were rescued after the Jaffar Express was hijacked in Pakistan, 27 Baloch rebels were killed. At the same time, people released from BLA's captivity have told the painful story of the incident.

The militants, Baloch ethnic fighters, said they would kill dozens of seized security personnel if the Pakistani government did not agree to a prisoner exchange.

During a media visit to the site, Brigadier Umar Altaf informed reporters that the army used "precision targeting" to end the siege. The hijacked train, found in a remote mountain pass in Balochistan,

The BLA said they gave the Pakistan Army 48 hours to exchange prisoners of war, but since they did not heed their warning, they killed the hostages

The Baloch Liberation Army (BLA) claimed responsibility for the execution of 214 hostages after Pakistan refused to negotiate a prisoner exchange. The mass execution included only Pakistan security personnel,